tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post4256273389692929177..comments2024-03-28T14:16:10.498+11:00Comments on Dr Kevin Bonham: Not-A-Poll: Best Prime Minister Of The Last 45 YearsKevin Bonhamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-32814592572531278752017-09-02T09:18:37.113+10:002017-09-02T09:18:37.113+10:00FYI - I don't know what happened above but I a...FYI - I don't know what happened above but I am the "unknown" contributor above.<br /><br />Cheers AndrewAndrew from Earlwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615617343547540790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-47426958192602674012017-09-01T19:01:21.898+10:002017-09-01T19:01:21.898+10:00That will be the question. There is also a certai...That will be the question. There is also a certain unpredictability in it all because the visitor mix to the site is partly determined by what articles I write in any given month, and I may from time to time write articles that interest some viewpoints more than others. Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-11254718412798422792017-09-01T18:25:02.389+10:002017-09-01T18:25:02.389+10:00Ah, but when you do the eliminations will the peop...Ah, but when you do the eliminations will the people who voted for Hawke or Gillard switch to Keating, or to Gough?Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-63840070260053992782017-09-01T16:50:06.169+10:002017-09-01T16:50:06.169+10:00Gough's primary lead over Keating, while still...Gough's primary lead over Keating, while still large, has actually been declining steadily since it started - he did extremely well in the first hour or so. Kevin Bonhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845545257440242894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-35895765084000718102017-09-01T14:40:44.224+10:002017-09-01T14:40:44.224+10:00I think you remarked somewhere that the early poll...I think you remarked somewhere that the early polling wouldn't necessarily be an indication of how the poll would go overall, Kevin - but I think Gough is so clearly in the lead already that I can predict the winner!Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-83543999612885358282017-09-01T11:11:18.531+10:002017-09-01T11:11:18.531+10:00Hawke for me. I loved Keating best, but Hawke'...Hawke for me. I loved Keating best, but Hawke's ability to garner public support and administer a very good Government gives him the nod from me. I agree re Whitlam's vision, but his administration was quite poor and that brings him down. For sheer guts, Gillard is right up there. Rudd's defeat of Howard was immense but he could not run a cabinet well enough for my liking. Howard was successful as an administrator, but his philosophy stunk and I put him near the bottom. Turnbull is pretty hopeless and Abbott is just a bozo.HD Thoreauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06146478777971654314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-17844532694508292332017-08-31T18:49:16.466+10:002017-08-31T18:49:16.466+10:00Until (and if) you can correct it Kevin, everyone ...Until (and if) you can correct it Kevin, everyone should know that the apparent 1 vote for Fraser is the result of a mis-click by me! Sorry, sorry, sorry!Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-54120802325637418992017-08-31T18:47:19.491+10:002017-08-31T18:47:19.491+10:00I agree with nearly all of that, "Unknown&quo...I agree with nearly all of that, "Unknown". But I think Gough's changing the country for the better outweighs his responsibility for the shambles (and his total lack of understanding of economics which you didn't mention). So for me, he was the greatest despite his feet of clay.Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-50596487419893265312017-08-31T18:26:56.135+10:002017-08-31T18:26:56.135+10:00It's a pity you can't do it like a ballot ...It's a pity you can't do it like a ballot paper and number the candidates according to preferences. We could of had a 2PP (Preferred PM) <br />It was a toss up between Hawke and Keating. Both were good in their own way.sonarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04565848706833543901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-66461508119777237242017-08-31T18:23:51.091+10:002017-08-31T18:23:51.091+10:00I worked for Gough. He changed the country - for t...I worked for Gough. He changed the country - for the better - like no other post WW2 political figure. But the governance of the Whitlam Government was a shambles. Gough bares his fair share of responsibility for that.<br /><br />KRudd is a micro managing narcissist, but his leadership between January 2008 and the middle of 2009 was the best of any Prime Minister, ever. Listening to Ken Henry on the topic of how KRudd drove the response to the GFC, from 6 months at least before it actually happened makes that abundantly clear. Despite his subsequent missteps and his personality defects KRudd goes close to rating as the best just for that alone.<br /><br />Hawke was a great chairman of a great cabinet, but for mine the best Prime Minister was Paul Keating. He combined Whitlam's vision and passion with actual skill in governance. Regrettably he came to office leading an already old government, so probably didn't get the run he deserved (by which I mean think about the consequences if he won the 1996 election - compulsory super would be at least 15%, the national east coast dual highway would have been completed a decade ago, the Telstra network would be Government owned and the roll out of the nbn would have happened without ranker a decade ago, skills training would not have fallen through the floor, the culture and history wars avoided, One Nation would have been drowned at birth, Howard wouldn't have blown the bounty of the mining boom, we would likely be reconciled with our indigenous peoples and a Republic with an independent foreign policy). Alas.<br /><br />That said, PJK's legacy in public life, including his 4 years as PM stands as a colossus!Andrew from Earlwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615617343547540790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4052593945054595675.post-2278408122263245662017-08-31T18:12:13.787+10:002017-08-31T18:12:13.787+10:00Very cautious Kevin - " If there is a change ...Very cautious Kevin - " If there is a change of Prime Minister during the campaign period..." However, a frenemy of mine with deep LNP contacts says he was talking to Andrew Wallace (member for Fisher) a week of so back and Andrew said "there is no appetite for change in the party room". Jack Arandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06210027164177789357noreply@blogger.com